【11 - Teenage Hormones or a Friend In a Time of Need!?】


Heidi's quest of taking on the prefects of the DMA was temporarily put on hold. The losses and near losses had rattled her. She'd had a great instinct and passion for the game but sometimes her impulsivity got the better of her. She'd redesigned her deck to destroy untapped creatures and have a focus on speed. Previously she'd played with humanoids and fire birds, her trump cards being armored dragons with an armored wyvern or two tossed in. After several serious edits a lot of her old cards were gone, now she had evolution phoenixes and xenoparts tossed in as well. She'd called herself the phoenix duelist and now she was playing with phoenix cards, a race from future sets.

"Ha! You may be a chosen duelist but your gaming skills are mediocre at best!" orange-haired Penelope sat on the floor with her legs crossed, fingers flying over the buttons of her controller.

It'd been a few days since Heidi's duel with the second prefect and it was now the weekend. Heidi grit her teeth competitively, her thumbs cramping with the speed she was exerting to keep up. The two girls were hanging out a lot and after talking Heidi had convinced Narciel to get a big screen and gaming console for her. Such things were afforded to chosen duelists. Soroban and Iwate had gone out in the city together. Ever since Heidi's complaint that they were always with her they started to pull back, but there was always one supervising. This time it was Timothy lounging quietly on her bed and staring up at the roof. He'd still been acting quiet, Heidi wondered if it was about Wembley.

"Dammit!" Heidi yelled when the game was over.

"I won!" Penelope raised her arms above her head. Heidi threw the controller and it clattered loudly in the corner of the room. Both girls looked at each other in shock. Penelope started laughing and after a while Heidi couldn't help snickering along with her.

"You're such a bad loser!"

"I know, I know…"

"You sure you don't want to go shopping or to the mall, just us? We could look through the games they have." Her friend suggested.

"I would…" Heidi sighed "but I can't. I'm not supposed to leave school property."

"Like, never?"

"Not for a while… I left a message for my sister Tailee but she's probably working herself ragged at the observatory and still hasn't seen it. I might have to visit her at work if she doesn't get back to me soon."

"Hmm. Well it's coming on five o'clock. I better head back…" she sighed with extreme reluctance.

"You study so much Penelope. Even on weekends."

"Yeah I know…" the girl stood up "But hanging out with you is giving me the fun and relaxation I need to avoid study burn-out."

"…How is your grandmother?" Heidi asked in a softer tone.

"She's in good spirits, but not good health. My other friends, I love them but they don't understand. They don't know what it's like to only have one other person in the world, and for her to be so sick, and the pressure…"

"You're welcome here whenever you like Penelope," Heidi said seriously "When we hang out it helps relax me too."

The girl smiled and Heidi stood up to see her out. After closing the door she lowered her head. She turned around and Timothy's brown eyes were on her, for a moment she'd forgot he was there.

"You've been stressed, Heidi." He spoke from her bed.

"Yeah…" with a sigh she went to pick up the controller she'd thrown.

"I'm always here if you want to talk."

"Thanks, Timothy…" After setting it down she took a seat by her desk. Staring at the computer suddenly her fear started gnawing at her. "Hey Timothy… do you trust Narciel?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, do you trust him? Everything he says?"

"Well… I'm sure he's keeping some secrets. Not all Dawn of the Phoenix followers know everything that goes on in the organization."

"Hm…"

"What exactly has you so stressed?" he propped himself up on his elbow "You can talk to me about it."

"It's just…" While Penelope may have been better to vent this all out to, Heidi was dying to talk to someone and Timothy was now prodding. He'd defended her a few times from unwelcome advances and she trusted him "Every day I've been studying strategies and practicing with my deck for hours in my free time. I've had losses and near losses and honestly I'm not used to it. The only people who beat me back home in Ikebukuro was my family and they were so much older than me. Over here I have to really compete, really smarten up. I'm supposed to be the champion for the fire civilization and struggling so hard here makes me question sometimes if I've got what it takes."

"You need to believe in yourself. Supernova Mars Disaster chose you for a reason."

"Yeah… yeah I do believe in myself, mostly…" she looked up at the blank computer screen in front of her "but… also… I got an email from someone claiming to be the chosen water duelist. They said there was a reason why none of the other chosens stayed at the DMA. They said 'don't trust Narciel'."

When Timothy was quiet she looked over and he was staring, blinking at her.

"Did you reply?"

"I couldn't."

"Heidi it could've been them. Those outer path freaks."

"I know that!"

"Can I see the email?" Timothy hopped up and strode over. Heidi switched the computer on, logged in and opened her emails. She showed him the brief message and he looked at it for a long moment. It felt weird for him to be leaning over close to her, his breaths raising his chest beneath his blue shirt. It didn't feel bad-weird, just gave her a funny little sensation she wasn't used to. "Huh…"

"Please don't tell anyone I showed you this." Heidi pleaded as he straightened. "Not Soroban, not Iwate, nobody…" she saw his mouth set in a hard line "Please, Timothy. I feel closer to you than I do the others."

He looked at her and his brown eyes seemed deeper, hiding some kind of emotion. Leaning in he suddenly kissed her.

Soft lips pushing against her own, both smooshing down. She froze and he pulled away, a burning blush all over, speaking quickly "Sorry! Heidi I'm sorry! I've spent my whole life at the temple and I've never, like, been with a girl. It's such a different life out here. Everyone's so open and I just- sorry! I'm really sorry…" he watched her anxiously as she remained frozen, staring off into space "Heidi, can you say something? I'm kind of freaking out here…"

She retracted her face, biting her lips together.

"Heidi…?"

"It's fine. Timothy, I'm fine." Still looking ahead and not at him.

"I'm gonna go. I don't know what came over me, sorry…" hanging his head he went out the door and left her alone.

Heidi sat with her thoughts. And boy did she have a lot of them. Grabbing fistfuls of her hair she banged her head on the table. Heidi had never kissed anyone before, that had been her first kiss. Didn't most girls daydream about what their first kiss would be like? Should Heidi be mad that he'd taken that from her in his moment of impulsivity? That she'd had her first kiss now in such weird circumstances and not on, say, her third date with an actual boyfriend? But Heidi honestly hadn't daydreamed that much at all about what her first kiss would be like. She was possibly a late bloomer, too tomboyish with her interests, too childish in only being interested in playing games and having fun with her hero escapades.

"Gah! Why do boys suddenly like me here!?" she looked up at her reflection in the blank screen, her computer had gone into sleep mode "…but no. Boys don't like me, they like the 'chosen fire duelist'. Timothy seems different, he's not out for himself, he's just a weirdo who's been ostracized from the world…"

It was in the moments she wasn't thinking that Heidi was better able to process her emotions. And she felt… fine. The kiss hadn't bothered her. So maybe for Timothy, seeing fellow disciple Wembley die made him question his life, the feelings he'd never explored and thinking with all the free time he had with no classes. Heidi was the only non-disciple girl he'd got close to, so she could represent a taste of something unknown. And as for Heidi, with worrying about getting stronger and being sought after by villains, determined to beat Tsukumo Kenji and Kaido Felgrass… this mundane but also unfamiliar territory was a welcome distraction. She… liked the kiss.

She'd been pushing her lips together. Making her face relax she poked her lip, quietly savoring the unfamiliar sensation of having been kissed. A while later she left her room to go get dinner.

"Hey Heidi," Soroban greeted in the hall outside the cafeteria "Timothy's acting strange, did something happen?"

"Uh… no. I don't know." She continued in to get food and Soroban brushed her dark, evenly-cut hair over her shoulder with a look of suspicion.

They both got trays of chicken and stuffing coated in gravy, green beans and potatoes. At the table Timothy was clenched up and Heidi gave him a nervous smile to show she wasn't angry. From beside the nervous boy Penelope was as excited as always. She'd already finished dinner, in front of her was a bowl of ice-cream with a cube of green jelly.

"There's the sore shooter, I mean loser~"

"Ha ha…"

The full table chatted and ate. Heidi wouldn't be able to stay up late and watch movies like Penelope and her friends were suggesting, unlike them her weekends weren't free. She was expected to be up and learning from Narciel every day. Seeing as she didn't have assignments or exams she shouldn't complain. Timothy relaxed when he realized Heidi wasn't bothered by what'd happened between them. She was scraping up the last of her gravy with her last piece of potato when someone unwelcome stepped up to their table.

"Heya Heidi." It was the black-haired preppy guy with the cobalt-blue eyes, that suave smirk on his face. Her mouth dropped open, she couldn't believe it. He was the most persistent one by far.

"Can't you take a damn hint?!" she was blushing as she said it and very embarrassed.

"My Dad has a chateau by the lake, you should come visit next summer."

"I wouldn't care if your Dad was king of Augus!" her fists hit the table, the glasses and gold cutlery clattered "You've even come here when I'm sitting with my friends? What the hell's the matter with you?"

From behind him Heidi could see the distant table he'd come from, the blonde Tsukumo watching with curiosity. The handsome boy in front of her tilted his head.

"Well rumors have been spreading around campus that you want to duel me."

"That's ridiculous! It'd probably just encourage you more!" Heidi crossed her arms and Iwate reached over to prod her shoulder.

"Heidi… he's Konnako Hoshiin. He's the third prefect."

"Oh…" she blinked, confused and having to re-orient the situation. Konnako raised an eyebrow at her. "…what's your grade score?"

"97% wins."

"…"

"We should make a bet, if I win you let me take you out to dinner. Give you a real tour of the city. If you win I'll let it drop and you can settle with… your friend." He crossed his arms confidently, but it was the entitled confidence of someone born into looks and money; to Heidi it was shallow. Penelope and her friends were impressed, staring at Konnako with wide-eyed wonder.

She didn't answer right away, withdrawing her fists under the table and clenching them. She'd told herself she needed a full week of preparation before jumping out in the deep end again. She didn't feel ready. But she also couldn't back down from a challenge. After a long hesitation Heidi slowly opened her mouth and-

"Kettou da!" Timothy stood bolt upright, surprising everyone. "I've had it with you! I'm going to take you down!"

"You?" he raised his eyebrows with incredulous humor "Run along back to your rat-infested temple. You disciples don't compare to the top-ranking students here."

"Well why don't we find out!?" Timothy insisted with anger. "Unless you're scared?"

"Fine then. We can duel. Yoshi. When we're done Heidi can see who the better man is."

There was silence from the table as the two glared each other down, tension palpable. Penelope was the one to speak up "…holy shit."

"Let's go." Konnako whipped around and the preppy kids cheered, a herd of them following him out. Timothy was unperturbed, storming out after them. Heidi and the others quickly scrambled up and went as well. Heidi's thoughts were a storm of confusion, are they fighting over me? This was supposed to be my duel. The others always said Timothy was the best disciple but does he really stand a chance against the second-best student in the school?

Outside the fortress it was dark but there was a scattering of white lights that looked like earthbound stars. Garden lights amongst the shrubbery and flowers. The night was warm and the excited chattering of the white-uniformed teenagers echoed out across the estate. There were more kids here than any previous duel Heidi had seen on campus, most likely due to Konnako's popularity and that word spread fast in the crowded cafeteria. They left the gravel and entered the grass, the lights dipped with the subtle rolling hills of the greenery.

A space was cleared and in the dark two hands blazed brightly with Kaijudo energy. The students gasped, impressed. Having the ability to suction out energy from the creature dimension and thus have Kaijudo duels was probably something only the top twenty-percent of players here could do. Both of the energy flames were impressive in size, Timothy's fluttering white while Konnako's was scarlet-red.

Two tables appeared and the boys stepped up. Anticipation was high.

"Man I left my plate of chicken wings to see this…"

"I brought mine with me." A kid replied, sucking the fat off his fingertips.

"I hate being on the sidelines!" Heidi turned to Soroban and Iwate, she found herself very worried for the boy dueling on her behalf.

"Timothy is strong…" Soroban assured her, facing forward.

"Ikuzo shields up!" Timothy swept his hand and five teal panels appeared, reflecting the scattering of ankle-level lights all around.

"Koi! Okay challenger, you get to go first. I'm waiting." Another five panels. The lighting cast shadows on the shifting mass of the audience.

"I charge water mana and end!" Timothy was entirely determined as he slapped a card down.

"I charge nature mana and end!" Konnako was now also completely determined.

"I charge light mana and end!"

"Well I charge then summon Gonta, the Warrior Savage!" the purple humanoid cross beast-folk leapt up with a heroic roar, wielding its double-bladed spear.

"A creature with 4000 power that costs two!" Heidi exclaimed.

"That's a rainbow creature for ya…" Penelope answered.

Timothy drew "I charge and summon Hypersquid Walter!" The indigo squid-headed being with the massive hands landed and spread them wide. It only had 1000 power.

"You're out of your league here!" Konnako laughed "I charge then summon Trench Scarab! He may only cost three but he has 8000 power while attacking!" the giant blue insect reared up and snapped its jaws "Now Gonta ike! Break a shield!" he punched forward and his soldier roared heroically, jumping and spinning its spear overhead before slashing a shield. The audience cried out and cheered collectively.

Timothy caught the card and added it to his hand, still unwaveringly determined "I charge and summon Emeral! I now replace one of my shields with a card in my hand." The blue-gilled creature with the cybernetic gold helmet hovered into play atop its machinery. It also had 1000 power and was dwarfed by Konnako's creatures. Timothy leaned forward and turned his card "Hypersquid Walter ike! I'm coming right back! Break a shield!" his quick-footed cyber lord sprinted over to return the favour, slapping a panel into pieces. "I draw whenever he attacks as well…" Timothy drew and ended his turn.

"Think I'm scared of your weak creatures?! Trench Scarab ike, drop Hypersquid Walter! Gonta the Warrior Savage ike! Break another shield!" The big blue bug picked up Timothy's struggling creature with a pincer, cleaving it in two. Meanwhile Gonta sprinted on the ground, leaping up and kicking glass across the fields as well. The audience gasped and cheered every move.

Timothy drew and added mana "Would you call this weak? I tap five and summon Illusionary Merfolk!" The 4000-point gel fish fluttered into play with its delicate ribbons and webbing. "I draw three cards. Emeral ike, break his shield!" the small cyber lord whizzed off and fired a bolt of energy that splintered a panel, glass raining down on Konnako's tabletop.

"There sure is a lot of shield breaking going on here." Heidi remarked.

"Such aggressive fighting styles! Such testosterone-driven competition!" Penelope squealed in delight while cupping her face.

"You must really want her, to be fighting this hard." Konnako mocked.

"This isn't about her! I just hate your smug sense of superiority!" Timothy shot back.

"This is definitely a fight over her, dude."

"I can hear you guys ya know!" Heidi shouted with rage "I'm not some damsel on the sidelines!"

"Relax Heidi," Penelope said, still cupping her face and swooning "Just say they can both have you and share…"

"Ew…"

Konnako whipped out a card and charged mana, continuing "Trench Scarab wipe the floor with Emeral, ike! Gonta break his third shield, ike! I'm still ahead!" Another of Timothy's creatures squashed by the angry insect, his opponent's warrior kicking glass down below. It was the shield trigger Timothy had planted, Thought Probe. But he couldn't use it since his opponent still only had two creatures. It didn't matter, he had other moves to play… Timothy drew, he now had eight cards in his hand.

"I charge!" the brunette boy declared "And I summon La Guile, Seeker of Skyfire!" A gold-armored torso above a cloudy body rose up, it leaned back with a roar as electricity crackled over it. "A 7500 double-breaker! Illusionary Merfolk ike! Suicide with Gonta the Warrior Savage!" His gel fish fluttered up and over, its ribbons tangling with the strong arms of the warrior as he struggled against it. The fish was pulled down on top and both creatures died. Two cards flew off separate tabletops.

"Heh… I summon Mighty Bandit Ace of Thieves!" A clothed cat swordsman appeared carrying a circular holster with many blades. It only had 2000 power, Konnako was left glaring across the field.

"Trench Scarab can't attack players right?" Timothy smirked "Civilizations that focus on rush and power get less effective the longer the game goes on, but I have plenty of options now."

"Make your move already!"

"With pleasure!" Timothy aggressively added mana "I cast Holy Awe to tap your creatures!" Orange orbs appeared overhead, firing sunbeams that caused Konnako's creatures to scrunch their eyes and shrink down. Two cards on his tabletop turned themselves sideways. "La Guile Seeker of Skyfire take out Trench Scarab, ike! That takes care of that problem!"

His mecha thunder charged its gauntlet before firing a beam that cut through the giant insect, yellow embers scattering themselves in the grass. The lights against the night-darkness made the duel even more impressive to behold.

Konnako drew "I summon Roaring Great-Horn!" A double-breaker of his own stomped into play, hoofed and having spiraling horns. "I end my turn."

He must not be attacking with Mighty Bandit because he wants to use its tap effect later. Heidi turned to Timothy as his turn started.

"I charge and summon Laveil, Seeker of Catastrophe!" Another powerful mecha thunder appeared, this one an 8500 blocker. It had floating claws and sparked electric-blue, its lower body a tornado. "La Guile ike! Double-break his shields!" As Timothy's creature fired another yellow beam through two glass panels and he took the lead, Heidi's eyes widened in wonder. He really is strong, I remember I needed to use three spells at once to beat him, my triple spell combo… Is he really dueling for me though, like Konnako said?

"I tap two to summon Smash Warrior Stagrandu!" the red 1000-power armoloid landed next to his cat warrior. The giant horned beast let out a shaky roar of anticipation "Great-Horn has 10,000 power while attacking, stronger than anything you've got! Ike, take out his Seeker of Skyfire!" The ground shook with its charge, the light creature speared and tossed upward. It sparked and exploded, Timothy shielded himself against the falling debris. "I'm ranked second in the academy you wannabe! You'll show me the respect I deserve!" he pointed spitefully.

Timothy grimaced, his eyes still determined as he drew and surveyed his options. He looked up "You're going down! I charge and then evolve Laveil into Kuukai, Finder of Karma!" His mecha thunder was absorbed by yellow light, changing shape into a gold-plated knight with blue lightning in its body, attached to a mechanical beast with the face of a Chinese lion. "It's got 10,500 power and is stronger than your Great-Horn even when its attacking! It's a blocker that untaps every time it blocks, meaning no matter how many creatures you play it can block them all indefinitely! Kuukai ike! Get his Roaring Great-Horn!"

The gold electric giant reared and charged toward its foe, the other giant beast. The audience gasped and cried out at their resultant clash and battle, Kuukai striking down with its sword and severing the beast's head. More cheers as the mecha thunder prowled back to stand in front of Timothy.

"I actually think he's gonna win." Iwate was astounded.

"Alright, alright, enough." Konnako lowered his head and the crowd's cheers died down "I know power on its own isn't enough to win duels, I'm not stupid. You don't get to the rank of mine without knowing some strategy…" his cobalt eyes shone with glee and Timothy got nervous "So check this out. I tap Mighty Bandit Ace of Thieves and use his ability to increase Stagrandu's power by 5000." His cat warrior reached back and tossed two of its spare blades overhead, the red armoloid caught the weapons in its claws and beeped.

"So it has 6000 power now?" Timothy was confused.

"Whenever Smash Warrior Stagrandu is attacking a creature with 6000 power or more it gets plus 9000 you temple amateur! It's power raises to 15,000!"

"Not good!" Heidi cried out as the students roared with applause.

The clawed tank robot beeped and blasted forward, slashing its swords through Timothy's strongest creature. The gold-armored mecha thunder, once so mighty fell and shattered into pieces. When Konnako's turn was done his robot wheeled back and had 1000 power again. He laughed loudly, his whole body shaking.

"I have no creatures left…" Timothy's hands scrunched up.

"You can do this Timothy!" Heidi cupped her mouth to shout, he looked over at her "I believe in you!"

He smiled, confidence boosted and started his turn "Alright I'm not out. I have plenty of cards to play and the fun's just getting started!" from across the field Konnako stopped laughing and blinked in surprise. "I cast Abduction Charger!" the spell glowed blue in his hand, two cryotanks appearing over Konnako's two creatures, both started floating in the liquid "I return your two creatures to your hand, then this spell goes to my mana zone!"

Timothy has more than enough mana by now, Heidi thought with confusion. What's he bringing that up for?

Konnako's two cards bounced off the table and he caught them with a sneer. Timothy continued "I summon Yuluk, the Oracle! It costs one but can only be played after I cast a spell!" The pale ringed orb on 2500 lowered into view. "And after that I tap a further two to summon Belix, the Explorer!" The glowing lamp-shaped gladiator swerved in, tendrils of light fluttering beneath it. "After summoning it I return a spell from my mana zone to my hand."

"So that's his strategy?" Konnako scoffed. "I summon Smash Warrior Stagrandu and Gatling Skyterror!" the two fire creatures reared up in a blaze of red "I got my weak armoloid to take out any stronger creatures you happen to play, and my 7000 armored wyvern to double-break your shields and finish you off!" What looked like a helicopter-dinosaur with guns aplenty strapped to its sides let out a violent squeal.

"You don't know my strategy…" Timothy spoke neutrally as he drew and started his turn. "I cast Abduction Charger on your Gatling Skyterror and… my Belix the Explorer!" The audience gasped as the two cryotanks appeared, one containing Konnako's fearsome creature and another holding Timothy's own gladiator. The cards bounced back to their respective player's hands and Timothy didn't miss a beat "Now I re-summon Belix the Explorer and return Abduction Charger to my hand, again!"

"You twerp!" Konnako's eyes were now wide with outrage and fear. "…he wasn't returning Abduction Charger to his hand so he could use it next turn… he did it so he could return it to his hand every turn! And with Belix the Explorer in play he bounces back one of my creatures every turn by reusing the same cards!"

"It's a continuous loop. Playing a strong creature was the wrong idea, you should've played a lot of weak creatures." Timothy smirked and tapped his card "Yuluk the Oracle break his shield, ike!" A blur and shatter, the pieces reassembling.

"Shield trigger… Mana Crisis…" but it didn't matter now. The green dinosaur-head chomped into his table, flicking a card overhead and Timothy didn't even blink.

Konnako was panicking as he drew and tried summoning as many creatures as he could, using Gatling Skyterror as mana "Burning Mane! Fear Fang! Mighty Bandit, Ace of Thieves!" his army of beast-folk assembled, glaring across the field wolfishly.

Timothy drew and his cards untapped "It's too late, I don't even need to cast Abduction Charger again… Yuluk the Oracle break his last shield, ike!" the pale orb whizzed over and sliced its ring through the final panel. It wasn't a shield trigger. Timothy rested his hand on Belix the Explorer, the gladiator was shining brightly in the dark.

"W-wait no man! That thing has 3000 power! That's enough force to cause bone fractures!"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"Look I'm sorry man, okay! I didn't mean to insult your temple!"

"You promise to leave Heidi alone from now on?" he asked, fingers still touching the card.

"Yeah of course! Just please don't!" the preppy guy cringed in fear.

Timothy cleared up his cards and his creatures vanished. He turned away and walked to the cheering crowd. Heidi saw Konnako's hand itch toward his cards. Removing them from the table-top was technically a surrender, but with so many witnesses he didn't want to send one of his beast-folk to attack while Timothy's back was turned. He didn't want to be expelled. Though Heidi could see how tempted he was in those merciless cobalt eyes. Snatching up his cards instead he stormed away furiously. A couple of cronies stepped over but Konnako shoved through them and continued off.

"You did it!" Heidi smiled up at Timothy as he came to stand close.

"Yeah…" he looked like he wanted to kiss her again and Heidi felt herself not turning away, the excitement of the warm night hitting her. With everyone around them jabbering and laughing he reached out and took her hand instead. Amidst the crowd while no one was looking they smiled at each other and held hands.


AN: So I check my latest review and it's not acumashindorballomu as expected but the elusive Shuriken16 returned! I've not actually got a review for my chapter before this one but that is not the point! I'm glad that you feel Heidi is developing as a character. I did decide to have her flawed, but relatable-flawed. She's struggling and she's improving. It's a shame you find her annoying, but we'll see if she grows on you as the story develops and she develops. As for your ending comment about wanting the other characters to be engaging and not death fodder, I think we should toss a small Mexican child onto our shoulders and ask "Why don't we have both?" *applause and maracas*